The Story Of Azula
by MagicSeddie
Summary: She tried to picture it in her mind. The swirling blue flames, the blasts of orange... A girl laughing hysterically, overwhelmed by her power, unhinged by the pressure of the world. To Korra, it's a tale from the past, something she can't picture with clarity. To Katara, it's a memory she'd prefer to forget...


**A/N: I have never actually written a piece in the Avatar universe, but here's my attempt. It's not as good as I can write. I say that every time though. So clearly I just can't write.**

**Disclaimer: Not Bryke. **

Katara and a 12 year old Korra were walking through the cold snow. Katara swiftly formed a narrow path away from the building where Korra had been practising Earthbending. After a small period of walking in silence, Korra decided to ask something that she'd always been curious about, but had never questioned as it could have been a very painful thing to remember.

Korra came to a halt. She cleared her throat, and Master Katara turned around. She smiled in a very grandmotherly way, "What's wrong, Korra, dear?"

"Master...", Korra began weakly. "I know what happened to all of Team Avatar after the end of the war... but... You said Fire Lord Zuko had a sister, Azula... I know she was defeated but the way you described her... She seemed practically untouchable... How did... Who...", Korra spluttered. Katara had never seen the young Avatar so at a loss for words. Again, she smiled at her young friend.

"Azula was a very conflicted soul. So very beautiful, so very powerful and oh-so-very smart, yet so cruel. You know that she was Ozai's favourite, much more loved by him than Zuko was. Zuko was unloved by Ozai, treated as if unimportant... Discouraged, disfigured, disgraced and banished by him! For a while, when I was younger, Zuko was known as 'The Banished Prince', who fought to regain his honour. He believed his father could return it but in actual fact, only Zuko himself could ever do such a feat...", Katara's eyes appeared to warm at some memory that Korra could never know unless Avatar Aang told her. Which wouldn't happen, since Korra was a spiritual failure.

"Master Katara... What does that really have to do with Azula?", Korra whispered, trying to avoid being disrespectful. Katara stopped walking and fashion a rather cold looking bench from the ice. Slowly, she trudged through the snow to sit down. A small tap next to her indicated that Korra should sit too.

Katara focused onto forming a spiral shape in the snow as she spoke. "Everything, Korra. You see, whereas Zuko suffered this abuse from their father, Azula was also damaged. A firebending prodigy, her father had noticed from a young age. She had mastered advanced techniques before Zuko had even gotten past the basics... She gained so much attention and pride from her father, she was treated with what she believed to be love. Her mother noticed how much more apparent 'affection' Azula got, so she concentrated everything onto Zuko. Azula was starved of her mother's love, eventually believed that she thought she was a monster. Meanwhile, all she got from her father was the lesson that it is better to make others fear you, than to trust and love them. All people were dispensable. Even her friends. She treated Mai and Ty Lee with so much hatred, they eventually turned on her, proving love and true friendship to be much stronger than hate.

This was the true beginning of the end, for Azula. When the night came... Zuko and I arrived during the coronation. We managed to stop it just in time, and when Zuko announced that he was to become Fire Lord, Azula challenged Zuko to an Agni Kai."

Korra's large azure eyes grew larger than Katara thought possible, until she remembered her own eyes as a young girl. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? How did I never hear of this? Poor Zuko!", Korra's raspy voice echoed Katara's own thoughts. _Poor Zuko, indeed._

"Ah, Korra, many things happened during my time with my friends, much of which is too trivial for you to possibly want to know. Even though there was the possibility that, well, we could've died at any moment, some of the best moments of my life were in those months..." Katara looked over to Korra, who clearly was going to ask another question. The elder woman put her hand up and her mouth snapped shut.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, Agni Kai. Zuko, of course, accepted. I was outraged. Clearly, it was another ploy from Azula to get us separated. She knew she could not take us both so she would take us alone. Hours before, Zuko had said he couldn't face her alone, yet, suddenly, he believed he could take her single handedly? Zuko promised me he'd be fine. He stated there was something different about her. Something odd. He was right. Zuko blasted orange jets of fire at his sister, she attacked him with blue. It was a swirl of fire, unbelievably beautiful, so breathtaking... Even in hatred, there was beauty. Zuko was winning. Azula fought to fight, Zuko fought because he had things worth fighting _for_. That was when it happened..."

A tear sprung to Katara's eye. Even after all of these years, the fear she'd felt for her friend never got any less painful. After they'd become friends, his pain was her pain, her pain was his pain. She would die for him. He would die for her. Nothing could change that. Nothing could change the fact that they were children of war, just kids acting as soldiers.

Korra had noticed the tear rolling down her Master's saggy cheek and wiped it away with the back of her glove. This is exactly what Korra had hoped to avoid. Katara whimpered, "Thank you..."

After taking a deep breath. "'No lightning today? What's the matter? Afraid I'll redirect it?' were Zuko's exact words. Azula was unhinged. Whatever cool composure she had in her head all of those years... Her sanity was slipping away from her. She screamed at him, 'Oh! I'll show you LIGHTNING!' and I was her target. Zuko moved before I could... He couldn't redirect it in time, he couldn't do it! He got hit. My fault... I wanted to heal him. She didn't let me. She threw more and more fire and lightning at me, had me cornered between pillars. Azula was very agile, very fast. I aimed where I thought she was, but she ended up being somewhere completely different. She got cocky, leaving me enough time to grab a metal chain. I managed to get her standing on a grid of water. I was going to die, Korra, understand that. If I wasn't a master, I would have been dead many times over, but that death would have been most painful, I can assure you."

Korra was shocked. What could have Katara have done to stop this girl? Azula seemed insane. Mental. Crazy. One sea prune short of a full bowl of sea prune stew. She nestled in closer to Katara's side, cuddling her arm... Katara took yet another deep breath, before continuing. "I froze us both. She couldn't move... but I could. I chained her to the grid, chained her hands and legs. She was utterly helpless. I forced her to end up like she made other people feel- trapped. Naturally, I left the water fall back and went to heal Zuko. He saved my life, I saved his... That moment made me realise how much Zuko meant to me, how much Suki meant to me, how much Toph meant to me, how much Sokka meant to... and especially how much Aang meant to me. And so, that is the story of Azula's fall from grace."

Korra was completely mesmerised. Stunned. She could never look at Katara in exactly the same way again. A question played on her lips but no, she couldn't ask it. The young Avatar could tell that the answer would have already been said, if Katara had wanted her to know. Instead, Korra asked another question. Blushing a delicate pink, she whispered, "Katara? What do you mean, 'especially how much Aang meant to me?' Weren't you completely in love with him at that point?"

Katara stood up and walked away. Korra ran after her. She sighed, "Aang was an amazing person. I was fourteen when I met him, he was your age. believed in Aang so much, ever since the first moment I had met him. But he was just a goofy kid, for so long to me. I had been with other boys before Aang... but as the date for the comet got closer, I realised how deep my feelings for Aang ran. I felt so confused. Of course, Aang and I had kissed before the day, but not once had I done it for pleasure. That's when I realised, though, when my life was hanging in the balance. I had him. After I healed Zuko, I pictured how Aang was doing, and knew that if he did not come back, I would not want to come back either." Korra looked down. "But Korra, you are not a romantic. What was your real question?", Katara breathed and the swirling air showed this.

"Well... You said what happened to Azula, you chained her up but... what happened after that?", Korra twiddled her thumbs. Part of her was immensely curious. After all, she's learning the tales of the past from someone who experienced them, the wife of one of her past lives! Okay, that sounded slightly odd, even to the girl who loved pickled whale and tentacle soup. However, part of her was petrified- didn't want to know the fate of the psychopath at all.

Katara unconsciously threw up an ice block wall. She seemed frozen, too, as if the thought had _literally_ petrified her. Korra threw the wall back to the snow and tugged on the sleeve of Katara's long coat. Eventually, Katara seemingly snapped out of her blanked out phase. The words came out in a choked blur, so confusing to the extent that Korra asked if Katara could repeat. "I don't think today is an appropriate moment to tell you, Korra."

Korra nodded slightly, as if she understood.

A hint of something Korra had never seen before clouded her elderly Master's eyes. Could the mist be darkness, menace? Katara's voice became much lower.

"Never play with fire..."


End file.
